One-time Actor Gets Life In Robbery Spree

Senior Citizen Pistol-whipped Victims Who Resisted

A 70-year-old former actor was sentenced to three consecutive life terms Thursday for a four-week robbery spree that left his victims bloodied, battered and traumatized.

Alan Paley, who appeared in television series such as Sea Hunt and Surfside Six, preyed on visitors at Broward County hotels, holding them up at gunpoint and bashing their heads in with his .380 automatic when they fought back. In one case, he repeatedly slammed the gun down on a 71-year-old man's head, leaving his victim crumpled on a bathroom floor and so bloodied people thought he was stabbed.

"Your infliction of injuries was not only intentional, but it was repeated and it was without mercy," Broward Circuit Judge Cheryl AlemM-an said as she sentenced Paley. "There wasn't the tiniest bit of empathy that was displayed to your elderly victims. Based on the testimony presented to this court, you were ruthless and really devoid of any mercy."

Paley apologized Thursday, calling his actions "idiotic." The hunched man with thick glasses talked at length about how he became depressed because he couldn't find a job to support his family. He complained about various ailments, including a hip replacement and heart problems.

"I sit here now and I still don't know how I was able to do those things," he said.

In September 1990 a Broward Circuit Court jury acquitted Paley of attempting to rob a man in a Fort Lauderdale hotel bathroom. His attorney in that case argued that Paley, who worked in the insurance industry, was too smart to commit such a crime during daylight hours in a busy hotel.

Broward Sheriff's Office detectives most recently arrested Paley, of Aventura, in March 2004, after receiving a tip that he was the criminal dubbed by authorities "The Middle-Aged Mugger."

Prosecutors charged Paley with four separate holdups at hotels in Deerfield Beach and Plantation in January and February 2004.

During the spree, Paley:

* Pistol-whipped a Wyoming man in a hotel hallway, sending his victim to the hospital for head wounds.

* Shoved a gun in the face of an 88-year-old man after bursting into the victim's hotel room.

* Pointed a gun at a Sunrise woman in a hotel parking lot, asking, "Do you want to die?"

Jerrold Newman, whom Paley attacked in the bathroom, testified at a Tuesday hearing that Paley left him with permanent emotional and physical scars.

"He spoiled my sense of security," Newman said. "He gave me nightmares for a very long time."

Paley pleaded guilty last week to seven felony counts, including robbery, aggravated battery, attempted robbery and burglary. Under state sentencing guidelines, he faced a minimum of 19 1/2 years and up to life in prison.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Scherer urged that Paley be locked away for good, saying his crimes devastated lives and were full of rage.

"The state does not believe this community is safe if Alan Paley ever, ever gets out from behind bars, whether he be 90 or 110," Scherer said. "If he was able to commit these crimes at 69 years old with all these health problems, the state's position is he will do it again if he gets out."

Assistant Public Defender Dorothy Ferraro asked that Paley receive the lightest possible sentence, saying the attacks were out of character for the family man. Paley's wife and one of his daughters testified Thursday that he is a loving father and husband.

Ferraro told AlemM-an that even if Paley got the minimum sentence, he probably wasn't going to live to see the end of it. Before sentencing Paley, AlemM-an detailed each of his crimes, saying he not only stole the victims' money, but their peace of mind.

"You made intentional choices," AlemM-an said. "You made choices to victimize the most vulnerable and least deserving of harm ... Even the sight of the quantities of blood that were described by the victims in this case did nothing to soften your resolve to ruthlessly obtain your own selfish ends."

Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4491.